Charlie Gard is a terminally ill infant at London’s Great Ormond Street hospital.
There is no known cure for his rare genetic condition, which causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage. His life support system is to be turned off shortly.
Charlie has been the subject of a legal battle between his parents who want to spend as much time as they can with him and the hospital specialists who want to withdraw life-sustaining treatment.
Both the Vatican and Pope Francis are supporting the Gard family who were given last weekend to spend extra time with Charlie.
At present the 10-month old Charlie is being kept alive on a life support system. Britain’s Supreme Court ruled early last month that it was not in his interest to move him or continue treatment.
Specialists at London’s Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital believe Charlie has no chance of survival. They say it is highly probable Charlie will suffer significant harm if his life is prolonged without realistic prospect of an improvement.
Charlie’s parents disagree and have raised £1.3m to help pay for experimental medical treatment in the United States.
The European Court of Human Rights rejected their pleas to be allowed to take him to the US.
The Gards then asked to take Charlie home and care for him there until he dies. They have not been allowed to do this.
In a statement from the Vatican, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia spoke of the “complexity of the situation, the heartrending pain of the parents, and the efforts of so many to determine what is best for Charlie”.
He went on to say “We should never act with the deliberate intention to end a human life, including the removal of nutrition and hydration”.
He added: “We do, sometimes, however, have to recognize the limitations of what can be done, while always acting humanely in the service of the sick person until the time of natural death occurs.”
Paglia’s report went on to speak of Charlie’s parents: “Likewise, the wishes of parents must heard and respected, but they too must be helped to understand the unique difficulty of their situation and not be left to face their painful decisions alone.”
Pope Francis strengthened the Vatican Academy for Life’s view on Sunday, saying he hoped Charlie’s parents desire “to accompany and care for their own child to the end” will be respected.
His message is aligned with his frequent denunciation of what he calls a “throw-away culture,” a term he uses to describe ways in which those society deems to lack value are discarded, such as unborn children, the disabled and the elderly.
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